


Everything Falling Into Place

by urvi_12



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Iron Dad, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, spider son
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:50:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14639328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urvi_12/pseuds/urvi_12
Summary: This is going to be a series of one-shots showing how the relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker changes after Homecoming and how they get closer and Tony becomes a father figure to Peter. It's my take on how their relationship became the way it is in Infinity War. It's going to show how Tony becomes a father figure for Peter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, the ending of Infinity War absolutely wrecked me so I decided to focus on Tony and Peter's relationship instead. This is basically going to show how they got closer over the course of the time between Spiderman Homecoming and Infinity War. This is my first time writing fan fiction for this fandom so if I get something wrong please let me know and i will try to fix it. I hope you like it.

Tony was sitting and pretending to listen to whatever the Board members were arguing about at the most recent Stark Industries meeting when he got the call. He shot an apologetic look at Pepper and got out of there as quickly as he could. Ever since the entire Homecoming incident he made sure not to miss any calls from the kid.

He picked up the phone expecting to hear the kid thank him for returning the suit. What he did not expect however was to hear a very angry May saying, “You son of a bitch.”

Now he knew he wasn’t her favorite person but he couldn’t, for the life of him figure out what he had done but before he could let out even a single word she was making it very clear it to him.

“Do you mind explaining to me why my 15-year-old nephew is running around the streets of New York serving vigilante justice in a suit you gave him.”, May almost screamed into the phone without taking a single breath.

“Oh! So, he finally told you.”, was all Tony could think to say. He could hear Peter in the background telling his aunt that it wasn’t Tony’s fault but he doubted May would ever see it that way. 

“No, I wish I had that privilege. I had to find out by walking in on him standing in his room wearing the suit.”, May said furiously.

Tony sighed and said, “You know for such a smart kid he can be really stupid sometimes.” The minute he finished the sentence, he knew that had been absolutely the wrong thing to say. 

“That’s all you have to say for yourself”, May asked in the same tone Pepper always used when he screwed up really bad. He realized he should go and talk to May about this personally so he called for his car and started for Queens. 

In a contrite tone Tony said, “No, I’m sorry. Look, I’m already on my way and then we can sit and discuss this properly.”

“Okay”, was all May said.

The entire ride over Tony kept thinking about how he could justify not telling May about Peter being Spiderman but he realized there was none. She was his guardian and he should have insisted she know.

He reached Queens in record time and was surprised to find himself actually nervous at the prospect of facing May. He knocked tentatively expecting to find May glaring at him on the other side of the door.

Instead he saw a disheveled looking Peter with red eyes. The knowledge that Peter had been crying tugged at his heart. Before he could say a single word, Peter started talking a mile a minute. 

“Mister Stark, I’m so sorry”, he said while motioning for Tony to come inside. “I told her not to call you because you’re busy and that this isn’t your fault but she was really upset and she kept saying that since you were the adult you should have known better. I’m sorry you had to drive all the way ….”

Tony held up his hand before he could go any further and Peter started looking down as if he was ashamed.

“Hey Pete, I am the adult and she’s not wrong I should have known better okay. How are you holding up?”, he asked because somehow his first priority had become to make sure the kid was okay.

“I’m okay.”, Peter said even though he was far from it.

Tony didn’t want to push him so instead he asked, “Where is your unusually attractive aunt anyway?”  
That got a small smile out of him and the sight of it warmed his heart.

It was quickly wiped away however as Peter said,” She went out to get something to eat. She said she needed to clear her head before you came over. What will I do if she doesn’t let be Spiderman anymore, Mister Stark?”

Tony understood this was a possibility but he didn’t want Peter to feel worse than he already did so all he said was,” Why don’t we just sit down and wait for her to come home before thinking about all that.”

Peter led him to the sofa and slumped down on one end of it. Tony sat closer to him than he normally would have because he knew Peter needed his support at that moment.

They talked about for a few minutes about school and what Tony was currently working in his lab but they both froze when they heard the key turning in the lock.

May entered the apartment and narrowed her eyes the minute her gaze landed on Tony. She set the bags she was carrying on the counter and made her way to where Peter and Tony were sitting.

She took a deep breath and turned towards Tony and simply said,” Explain yourself.”

Tony braced himself and said,” Look May, I understand why you are upset with me and you have every right to be but trust me I only want what’s best for Peter. I did give him the suit because it offers him the kind of protection that no other suit can. It also lets me know if he is ever in danger and I can be there to help him out.”

May sighed and said,” All that’s well and good. What I don’t understand is why he has to go out there and do all this anyway. He is just 15. How can he fight against actual criminals?”

Peter who had been quiet until then spoke before Tony could answer. “May I have told you, after the spider bite I got these powers. My reflexes are like crazy fast, all my senses are heightened and I am much stronger now. I mean you saw the video of me stopping that car.”, he said in a placating manner.

“Yes, I did and it nearly gave me heart attack”, May snapped. 

When she saw Peter flinch at her tone she softened her voice and said,” Look sweetie, I can understand your need to help people. Ben was like that too but you never learned how to fight. What if the suit is damaged in a fight and you can’t rely on it anymore? What are you planning to do then?”

Peter opened his mouth to speak but he couldn’t think of anything to support his argument so Tony spoke for him. He said,” I can help with that. I mean, I am an Avenger. Me or someone else can teach Peter everything necessary for him to hold his own in a fight if that scenario occurs.”

Tony wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to say but when he saw the way Peter was smiling at him, whatever doubts he had disappeared.

For the next couple of hours, they calmly discussed everything until May was satisfied. She imposed some rules which Peter would have to follow if he wanted to continue being Spiderman. Peter readily agreed to all of them.

The first was that school had to come first. He wasn’t allowed to go out until he was done with his homework. The second was he would have a curfew. It was 12 am on weekdays and 1:00 on weekends. The last was that he would spend every afternoon on the weekends at the compound for his training.

Tony recognized the rules as fair and supported May in her decision. May then went to prepare dinner. They invited Tony to stay but he figured he should give them time as a family and decided to head out.

While walking Tony to the door Peter said,” Thank you so much, Mister Stark. I doubt I could have gotten her to agree without your help. I’m sorry you had to come all the way out here and for the training sessions. Not that I wouldn’t love to train with the Avengers but- “

Tony interrupted him before he rambled on. He said,” Kid if I didn’t want to train you I wouldn’t have offered to okay. And I’m glad I could help out and if you need anything you can always call me.”

“Thank you, Mister Stark.” He said while fidgeting with his clothes.

Tony could tell the kid wanted to hug him but since the he had been shut down the last time he had tried he wasn’t willing to try again.

Tony sighed and wrapped his arms around the kid and couldn’t help but smile as he felt Peter hug him back tightly. He stepped back and ruffled his hair before leaving. 

As he was driving back he realized that he couldn’t wait for next weekend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Tony helps Peter through a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and the kudos. They mean so much to me. Also, this chapter ended up being way longer than it was supposed to be so I'm sorry. I hope you like it.

May looked over at Peter exasperatedly because he was barely stopping to swallow his breakfast before continuing to chatter on excitedly about what he was going to do with Mr. Stark that afternoon.

“I wonder who I’ll be training with”, he was saying.” You know since most of the Avengers aren’t at the compound anymore. I hope it’s Mr. Stark but I know he’s busy. Whoa, what if it’s a robot. That would be so cool.”

“Okay Peter, take a breath. I’m sure it’ll be great but you have to be careful, okay.”, May said indulgently.

“Yes, I know. Oh, what if I get to meet War Machine. That would be…….”

This went on until Happy arrived to pick him up. Peter grabbed his bag, hugged May goodbye and almost hopped to the car.

“Hey Happy, how are you? Oh, and thanks for coming to get me. I mean…...”

“Okay kid, settle down. You’re behaving like you’re hopped up on sugar, more than you usually do.”, Happy said without any real bite. He had been much more accepting of Peter since he had stopped Toomes from stealing the items from the plane.

“Sorry Happy, I’m just excited.”, Peter said while bouncing in his seat. He continued to chatter animatedly the whole way to the compound.

\-----------x--------------------x---------------------x---------------------x-----------------------x-------------------x

Tony was excited too, not that he would ever that admit it out loud. Ever since the team had split up, the compound, as big as it was had felt a little suffocating. He felt like he was being taunted by its emptiness. He was hoping that Peter’s presence might help change that.

When Friday informed him that Peter had arrived, he left his lab and went out to meet him. He could see Peter failing miserably at trying to control his excitement. He almost fell out of the car in his hurry to reach inside which made Tony laugh.

When he finally reached inside he let out a soft “wow” and Tony realized he had only been at the compound once before. He made a mental note to show him around later.

“Hey kid, ready to get your ass kicked”, Tony said to get his attention.

Peter whirled around to face Tony. His eyes widening as he said,  
“Hey Mr. Stark, this place is so amazing. I didn’t notice it last time because of the whole ‘joining the Avengers’ thing but it’s huge. I can’t believe you actually live here. It’s like living in a castle but cooler because…...”

Tony waited for him to finish with an amused look on his face. When he looked up at Tony, he felt his face getting hot and he mumbled a quick sorry under his breath. Tony just laughed and motioned for Peter to follow him.

He led him to a bathroom and told him to suit up and then ask Friday for directions to join him in the training room.

Tony walked into the training room and saw Rhodey doing some push-ups. Since he knew he wasn’t the best person to lead Peter’s training he had asked Rhodey for help.

He walked over to him and asked,” So I take it this means, the legs are working okay?”

“They’re working great.”, Rhodey said while smiling at him.

Tony opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by Peter’s arrival.

“Whoa!”, Peter said excitedly.” You’re War Machine. I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you. I am such a huge fan.”

“Geez, kid how old are you?” Rhodey asked seriously.

It was at that moment both Peter and Tony realized that he wasn’t wearing his mask.

Peter started to shuffle nervously as he stuttered,” Mr. Stark, I am so sorry. I didn’t realize…. I thought it was just you.”

Tony put a hand on Peter’s shoulder to reassure him and said, “Pete, it’s not your fault, I should’ve told you you’d be training with Rhodey beforehand but it’s okay, you can trust him, he’s not going to reveal your identity. Especially since I’m the only friend he has.”

Peter smiled at that and some of the tension left his shoulders. He turned to Rhodey and told him that he was fifteen in response to his question.

Rhodey could tell Peter was already nervous so he refrained from saying anything negative and instead he said,” Well, kid from what I can recall, you fight well for a 15-year-old. Let’s see if we can make you better.”

Since Tony didn’t want Rhodey to fight a teenager with super strength, he had designed a robot for Peter to fight. Rhodey would be giving instructions and showing him techniques to help him fight better which Peter would use on the robot. He could literally feel the excitement radiating off Peter when he brought out the robot.  
After that Tony settled down to watch his best friend train the kid. He couldn’t help but smile as he saw Rhodey floundering to answer all the questions Peter was rapidly throwing at him.

By the time training ended, Tony could see Peter had managed to win Rhodey over too. He walked over in time to catch the end of the embarrassing story Rhodey was telling the kid about him. Peter’s face was red from the amount he was laughing.

“Okay Rhodes, that’s enough his aunt will have my head if you corrupt him.” Tony said jokingly.

“Thank you so much for this Col. Rhodes. This was beyond awesome”, Peter said.

“You’re welcome kid. I’m glad to see Tony’s manners aren’t rubbing off on you with all the time you’re spending with him” Rhodey said on his way out of the door.

“Hey”, Tony called out indignantly as Peter grinned. He then turned to Peter and said,” Come on, I’ll show you to your room so you can take a shower. You stink.”

“I still have a room here”, Peter asked incredulously.

“Yes, I figured you would need it since you are going to spending your weekends here”, Tony said to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal.

Peter frowned when they reached the door to his room because the only other door present was across the hall from his. “I thought my room was next to Vision’s”, he said while looking around.

Tony almost seemed a little embarrassed when he said, “Yes, well I decided to shift your room.” He pointed to the room across the hall and said,” That’s my room. I thought it was better to have your room closer to mine just in case you need something.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark”, he heard Peter say softly. Not wanting to prolong the awkwardness he was feeling, he quickly opened the door and led Peter inside.

Peter couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the room. There was a huge bed in the center, over which hung a Star Wars poster. There was an unopened box of Legos lying on the dresser. He even had the latest Stark industries computer installed in his room. He couldn’t believe Tony had put so much thought into his room.

Tony waved off Peter’s thank you’s, told him to have a shower and went downstairs. After his shower, Peter decided to explore his room more. He opened the cupboard expecting it to be empty but instead he found that it was filled with clothes which consisted of an alarming number of Iron Man t-shirts. He quickly changed into a tracksuit because it looked so comfortable. He lay down on the bed and almost squealed when he felt how comfortable it was. He decided to lie down for a few minutes before heading downstairs. He was asleep within seconds.

\---------------x-----------------x---------------x---------------x-----------------x-------------x------------x

It had been an hour since he had left Peter in his room and Tony was starting to get a little worried. He went to go see what was keeping him. He knocked on the door but he heard no answer so he went inside. He saw Peter curled up on his bed, sleeping soundly. He noticed how much younger the kid looked when he was sleeping. He decided to let him sleep for some time before waking him up for something to eat.

While walking to his lab he asked Friday to call May so he could ask her if Peter could spend the night since he was going to have to come over the next day anyway. Tony couldn’t help but feel glad when she said yes.  
He had been working in the lab for barely an hour when Friday said,” Sir, Mr. Parker appears to be in distress.”

He could feel his fear rising as he ran to the elevator. He didn’t bother to knock this time and hurriedly swept inside Peter’s room. He felt his heart break as he saw Peter thrashing around wildly screaming, “No, no…. please someone help me…… HELP.” He’s too young to be going through this, Tony thought to himself.

He made his way over to Peter and shook him awake. He awoke with a start and quickly sat up against the headboard and put his head in his hands. Tony was way out of his depth her but he put his arm around Peter and pulled him in. Peter immediately curled into his side and burst into tears. Tony kept rubbing his hand on Peter’s back and whispering that he was safe.

Once the tears had subsided he felt Peter pull back and rub at his eyes. He looked up at Tony and said,” I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. I don’t know how I fell asleep. I’ll just go home.”

Tony couldn’t believe his ears. He said,” Kid, of course I’m not going to send you home. I talked to your Aunt May and she said it’s okay if you spend the night.

Peter just nodded and they sat in silence until Tony asked, “How often do you have these nightmares?”

“I have them on most nights unless I’m really tired. Talking to Karen helps a lot.”

“Whose Karen?”, Tony asked.

“Oh, she’s the AI in my suit”, Peter said, his cheeks turning a little red.

“Does May know?”

“No, she doesn’t. Please, Mr. Stark you can’t tell her. She doesn’t need to worry about me more than she already does,” Peter said in a pleading tone.

“Okay kid, I won’t. Do you mind telling me what they’re about?”, Tony asked.

Peter took a deep breath and said,” They are about what happened in the warehouse.”

“What warehouse?”, Tony asked knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer to that question.

“After I left the dance, I followed Toomes to this warehouse. The roof of the warehouse was resting on these pillars that I was standing in the middle of.” Tony found it a little weird that Peter was talking about the building but he didn’t say anything.

“Anyway, while I was talking to Toomes His wings were moving on their own, like your suits do. They always seemed to miss me so I wasn’t paying them much attention. I realized too late that they weren’t aiming for me at all.”

Tony closed his eyes as he realized what was coming next.

“It happened so fast I had no time to move and then suddenly I was trapped under the building. I kept calling for help but no one was there.” Tony’s heart clenched as he faced the fact that none of that would have happened if he hadn’t taken the suit away. He knew he would never be able to get the image of Peter trapped under a building out of his head.

“How did you get out?”, he asked in a hoarse voice.

“I lifted it.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say you lifted an entire building?”, Tony asked incredulously

“I had to. I remembered you saying that if I’m nothing without the suit then I shouldn’t have it and I realized I’m Spiderman with or without the suit so I lifted it.”, Peter said.

“God kid, I’m sorry you had to go through that. It’s all my fault. I never should’ve taken the suit away from you. It won’t ever happen again I know Iron Man is your hero but Tony Stark screws up sometimes especially because I didn’t have the best role model but I’m going to be better for you, Pete.”, Tony said in a voice Peter had never heard him use before.

“It’s not your fault, Mr. Stark I never blamed you.”

“Either way it won’t happen again. Also, kid the next time you have a nightmare I want you to call me or text me or whatever. It doesn’t matter what time it is. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”, Peter said while smiling at him.

“Okay, now let’s go and eat something. I can’t let Spiderman starve to death.” Tony said in an effort to change the mood.

Peter laughed and followed him to the living room. They decided to order a pizza and settled down to watch a movie.

“Mr. Stark?”, Peter said softly.

“Yeah, buddy?”

Peter took a deep breath and said, “I think Iron Man is amazing but it’s Tony Stark that has always been my hero.”

It was in that instant that Tony decided he would do everything in his power to live up to being Peter Parker’s hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing the ending of this chapter. Anyway, next chapter Peter will get to meet one of the Avengers. Feel free to send me any prompts here or on my tumblr. Its urvi531. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Peter gets hurt and Tony blames himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and the kudos. They mean the world to me. I'm sorry it took a while to update the story. I'll be posting much more regularly from now on. I hope you enjoy.

“Would you like me to activate Instant Kill, Peter?”, Karen asked entirely unhelpfully.

“I’m going to have to talk to Mr. Stark about that because your obsession with it is starting to scare me now.”, Peter muttered as he swung onto a ledge narrowly avoiding the bullet aiming for his heart.

He had been on his way to the compound when Karen’s surveillance of nearby street cams had shown him two men forcing a woman down a dark alley. He had helped the woman escape and webbed up one of the men but the other had started shooting wildly at him before he could disarm him.

Peter knew he had to get the gun away from the man before he moved out into the street. Peter feinted to the right before charging at the man. He felt a stinging pain on his left side before he got his hands around the gun. He quickly rid it of the remaining bullets and webbed him up too before asking Karen to alert the police.

As soon as he left the scene, he got a call from Tony who sounded almost frantic when he asked, “Kid, are you okay? I was just told that someone had been shooting at you.”

“It’s okay Mr. Stark, I’ve been shot at before and anyway I already handled it,” Peter said while swinging from one building to the next, his adrenaline propelling him forward.

“I’m sorry, do you think you build up an immunity to bullet wounds,” Tony asked harshly. After a beat he asked,” Are you hurt?”

Peter hesitated for a moment before he said,” Um, not really.”

“Well as convincing as that sounded, I’m on my way to get you.”

Not wanting Tony to think he was weak, Peter quickly said,” No, you don’t have to do that. I’m swinging in your direction anyway, I’ll come to you.”

Tony told him to be careful and come straight to him before hanging up. Peter ignored the pain that shot through his abdomen when he made a sharp turn and continued on his way.

On reaching the compound, he entered through the kitchen window which had been left open for him. He had just taken off his mask and sat down when Tony walked in. He was running his hands through his hair repeatedly and looked worried about something.

The minute he saw Peter, his expression morphed into one of concern and he asked,” Are you going to be honest about your injuries or do I have to get Friday to scan you?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark I heal fast remember. How did you know I was being shot at anyway? You told me you had removed the Baby Monitor protocol.”

Tony smirked as he said,” Well you never asked about the Tattletale protocol.”

Tony’s smile widened when he heard Peter grumble about it but his expression quickly turned serious as he said,” Kid, there’s someone here who you would love to meet but it’s only been a day since his return and he hasn’t had the best couple of years so could you tone down your usual hyper activeness around him.”

“Whoa, who is it, Mr. Stark? What do you mean he hasn’t had the easiest couple of years? Why would I love to meet them?” Peter asked, his eyes widening with every subsequent question. He then sucked in a breath and asked,” Is it an Avenger?”

Tony sighed and said,” Yes, it is. Good job on the calming down, by the way.”

“Sorry Mr. Stark,” Peter said sheepishly. “Who is it?”

“It’s Bruce, kid.”

Peter had to physically stop himself from squealing as he said,“You mean Bruce Banner. No way, that is so cool Mr. Stark.”

Tony rolled his eyes and said,” Well, unless you want him to know you’re Spiderman, you should go and get changed.”

“It’s too late for that,” Peter said just as Bruce stepped into the kitchen.

“Hey, Tony….,” Bruce started to say but stopped abruptly when he noticed Peter. “Have I lost my mind or is there a kid in spandex standing in your kitchen?”

Peter expression seemed to alternating between awe and terror so Tony stepped in and said, “Bruce, this is Peter Parker otherwise known as Spiderman. His civilian identity is a secret however and we would like to keep it that way.”

“So, you’re Peter Parker,” he shot Tony an amused look and continued,” Tony’s told me a lot about you.”

“He did?” Peter said smiling widely. Before Bruce could respond Peter launched into a tirade saying,” Dr. Banner, I’ve read all your papers. I didn’t understand certain parts but from what I could understand, I thought they were incredible especially the one on Bio organics. I actually gave a presentation on it at school.”

Bruce looked a little taken aback but upon learning that Peter was fifteen years old he said,” Peter, I hope you know it’s incredible that you understood my papers to any extent at this age.”

Tony couldn’t help but feel proud at seeing Bruce praising Peter for his intellect even though he was in no way responsible for it.

“Kid, go get changed. Bruce will still be here and then you can continue to fawn over him.”

Peter stuck his tongue out at him and ignored the pain he felt when he got up assuming his healing factor would take care of it soon enough. As he walked his hand brushed his side and he felt an intense amount of pain shoot through him. He looked down at the wound and examined it for the first time since he had gotten hurt. He saw the bullet still lodged inside of him and the blood that was now covering his hand. All the agony that his adrenaline and excitement had been keeping at bay rushed at him so fast that he could barely see straight.

He turned to where Tony and Bruce were deep in conversation and said,” Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good,” just as his legs gave out.

Tony caught him before his head could hit the ground. He laid his head carefully in his lap and asked Friday to scan for injuries while asking Peter to stay awake.

Bruce quickly located the bullet wound and said,” I’m assuming he has accelerated healing because there is already tissue forming around the bullet wound.”

Tony nodded as he watched Peter lose the energy to keep his eyes open. He turned to Bruce and, in a scared voice whispered,  
“You’ve got to help my kid, Bruce.”

“We have to get him to the Med bay. Can you carry him?”

Tony scooped Peter up into his arms, being careful not to jostle him and followed Bruce to the elevator.

  
He tucked Peter’s head under his chin and kept whispering,  
“You’re going to be okay,” to him repeatedly. He kept saying it until they reached the Med bay because repeating it was the only thing keeping his anxiety at bay.

He laid him down on the bed and tried to ignore the fact that his t-shirt was covered in Peter’s blood as he removed the Spiderman suit from his body. He couldn’t help but comb back through his recent nightmares which had all ended with Peter dying in his arms because he hadn’t been able to save him in time. He felt his breaths getting shallow until he was gasping for air but before he could spiral any further he heard Peter calling for him.

He cleared his head, took a few deep breaths and whirled around to face Peter. Some of the tension in the kid’s shoulders was relieved when Tony came into view.

Bruce gathered all the instruments he required and said,” Peter, I’m sorry but I will have to remove the bullet and sew up the wound while you’re conscious because your body will burn through any sedative I give you.” He turned to Tony and said,“You’re going to have to hold him down and keep him still.”

Tony saw Peter try to keep any fear from showing on his face but fail to do so. He gripped Peter’s shoulders and said,” Kid, I need you to focus on me okay. Just keep your focus on me and don’t look down. You’re going to be okay, Pete.”

Tony’s heart clenched as Peter’s terror-filled eyes met his. He saw him holding back his tears as Bruce started cutting into his skin so he said,” It’s okay, kid. You can let it out,” and he did. Tony knew the sound of Peter sobbing as he had to hold him down wasn’t one he would ever forget.

Since the bullet hadn’t hit any organs, once it was removed, Bruce just had to sew up the wound. As soon as he was done, Tony loosened his hold on Peter but didn’t let go.

He watched the kid say," Thank you, Dr. Banner.”

“You’re welcome Peter but I hope you’ll be more careful next time,” Bruce said but upon seeing Peter’s face fall he added,“Maybe next time you’re here we can discuss your presentation and I can explain my papers to you.” He waved off Peter’s excited ‘thank you’ and decided to give both of them space to talk when he noticed Tony’s expression.

Once all the terror and panic had left Tony’s body, all that remained was his anger. At himself as well as at Peter. But before he could chastise him, Peter had already started saying,” I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark. I know I should’ve told you but I didn’t realize how bad it was. I thought it had just grazed me and I figured it would be completely healed by tomorrow.”

“That’s not why you didn’t tell me. Let’s try again,” Tony said seeing through Peter’s lie.

Peter hung his head and said,” I honestly didn’t think it was this bad but I didn’t tell you I was hurt because I didn’t want you to think I was weak.”

Tony sighed as he said,” Kid, there is nothing weak about getting hurt or needing help. I understand why you think so. I used to think so too but I was wrong and I realized it the hard way. And I will never think you’re weak, Peter. You are the strongest person I know.”

“Really?” Peter asked softly.

“Yes, but you have to tell me when something is wrong. You cannot keep these things from me. I can’t lose you, kid,” Tony said in a moment of vulnerability.

“I’m sorry,” Peter said and after coming to a sudden realization he added, “Do we have to tell Aunt May?”

Tony winced as he thought of May’s reaction and said,” Look, kid for the sake of both our lives its better if we handle this ourselves. So, since I’m going to have to repair your suit, I will reinstall the Baby Monitor protocol until you learn how to ask for help.”

Peter tried to glare at him which only made Tony laugh and say,“You look about as intimidating as a puppy.”

“You’re mean,” Peter responded while stifling a yawn.

“Okay kid, why don’t you get some sleep and let your wounds heal.”

Peter closed his eyes but mumbled,” Will you stay?”

“Of course, kid. Now get some rest,” Tony said as he ruffled his hair.

Bruce reentered the room once Peter was asleep and said,” He seems like a good kid.”

“He is,” Tony answered with pride.

“Is he yours?”

Tony looked bewildered as he answered,” Mine? Biologically? No, he isn’t. Why would you think that?”

“Well, you keep calling him kid, he seems like he’s incredibly smart like you and you guys sort of look alike. Also, you did say ‘help my kid’.”

‘Had he’, Tony thought back. He knew he felt almost paternal towards the kid but he had never actually said it out loud before. He broke out of his reverie and said,” Well, he isn’t mine. He deserves better than me anyway.”

Bruce frowned and took a seat next to Tony.” You know this isn’t your fault, right?” he asked.

“Of course, it’s my fault. It’s my responsibility to protect him and I failed. I should have checked his vitals the minute I was informed that he was being shot at. I should’ve insisted on coming to get him but I got distracted and I let him down,” Tony said while putting his head in his hands.

Bruce searched for the right words to comfort him and said,  
“Tony, the kid is Spiderman okay. He’s a superhero which means you will not be able to protect him from getting hurt. I understand you’re feeling guilty for being distracted but I did just show up out of the blue and give you a lot of potentially dangerous information. Look, when you did become aware that something was wrong, you did everything to make sure he was safe. He’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m lucky to have him.”

Bruce smiled at his friend and said,” Why don’t you go take a shower and change out of your clothes?”

“He asked me to stay,” Tony said.

“I’ll stay with him until you get back.”

“Thanks, Bruce,” Tony said gratefully.

“Anytime, Tony.”

* * *

 

Tony had a shower in record time, itching to get back to Peter. He got dressed and took a minute to email Pepper, asking her to see if they could buy the Stark Tower back as the deal hadn’t been completely finalised yet. He wanted to make sure Peter wouldn’t have to travel so far if he got hurt again. Selfishly, he also thought that it would give him the opportunity to be more involved in Peter’s life.

He hurried back to the Med bay and was relieved to see that Peter was still asleep. He smiled tiredly at Bruce who seemed to be working on something on his Stark pad and collapsed into the chair next to Peter’s bed.

Bruce turned to him and said,” I’m using his blood sample to work out how to create a sedative that will work on him. We can work on it in the lab tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Bruce. You should go get some rest. I’ve got it from here.”

Before he left the room, Bruce turned around and said,” It suits you. The whole ‘dad thing’, I mean. You’re doing a good job, Tony.”

Tony smiled and looked over at Peter fondly. He then took out his own Stark pad and started working on a design to make Peter’s suit bulletproof while also adding in a new protocol that would inform anytime Peter had so much as a scratch while he was patrolling. He had to keep the kid safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys can send me your prompts here or on my tumblr. It's urvi531. Thank you for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony crashes Peter's date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and the kudos. They are super encouraging. Thank you for reading.

“Dude, I can’t believe you met The Bruce Banner. Your life is unbelievable,” Ned said, his excitement evident as he continued to whisper, “You have to call me next time something like that happens.”

“Next time I get shot?” Peter countered drily.

“Right, sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Peter answered distractedly as he watched MJ enter the class.

“……… Why don’t you just ask her out?” Peter focused his attention on Ned as soon as he heard the end of his sentence.

“Are you talking about MJ?” Peter asked disbelievingly

“Who else would I be talking about?”

“I can’t ask her out,” Peter sputtered while lowering his voice to make sure no one overheard.

“Come on, Peter it’s obvious you like her and she might say yes.”

“Well, as reassuring as ‘might’ is, don’t you remember what happened I asked someone out.”

Ned sighed and said,” I doubt her father is also a supervillain who wants to kill you.”

Peter just shook his head and the conversation was shelved as their teacher entered the class. For the rest of the day Peter couldn’t help but replay the conversation in his head and wonder if Ned was right.

When lunch rolled around, he took his usual seat next to Ned just as MJ dropped into the one across from him and said,” Hey nerds.”

“Doyouwanttogetcoffeewithme?” Peter blurted out before his brain had enough time to comprehend what he was saying.

“What did you say?” MJ asked a little hesitantly.

Peter ignored Ned’s sniggering and said,” Um, do you want to get coffee after school. With me, I mean. At Cup o’ Joe.”

That second before she answered seemed to stretch forever but finally she said,” Sure, why not,” in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

The rest of lunch was spent exchanging awkward smiles while Ned continued to snicker even after being elbowed in the ribs repeatedly.

It was only once MJ had left for class that Peter remembered that Tony had invited him to the Tower since it finally done being decorated. He groaned and dropped his head into his hands and said,” I completely forgot Mr. Stark had invited me to the Tower today after school.”

“I wish I had problems like forgetting I was supposed to meet Iron Man,” Ned said wistfully.

“You’re being super unhelpful right now. Tell me what to do,” Peter beginning to panic.

“Okay, calm down. Just tell MJ that you forgot you had some work for the internship.”

“I can’t do that. Don’t you remember what happened when I missed one decathlon meeting because of the ‘internship’? She will never agree to go out with me again,” Peter said miserably.

“Yes that was scary but it’s not like you can cancel on Tony freaking Stark.”

“I could tell him that we had a last-minute meeting and go to the Tower after coffee. You know, I’m just going to call him and tell him I’ll be late,” Peter said.

“I’m trying very hard not to talk about how cool it is that you have Tony Stark’s number,” Ned said as he leaned closer to Peter.

“Well, you’re failing,” Peter said drily as he called Tony.

“Hey kid, aren’t you supposed to be in class?” Tony said when he picked up.

“Hey Mr. Stark, it’s lunch right now. Anyway, I just called to tell you that we have a decathlon practice after school so Happy doesn’t have to come get me. I’ll just come over after it’s done,” Peter said breathlessly.

Tony sounded slightly suspicious as he said,” I thought you didn’t have Decathlon on Thursdays.”

Peter rushed to answer,” We usually don’t but MJ said it was an emergency meeting……”

Tony cut him off with a short laugh,” Of course, we wouldn’t want to let your girlfriend down now, would we?”

Peter could almost see the familiar smirk Tony got on his face every time he mentioned MJ,” for the last time, she’s not my girlfriend.”

“Whatever you say kid. Just come over once you’re done,” Tony said as he clicked off.

“I don’t think he would’ve minded if you had told him you had a date,” Ned piped up.

Peter shuddered at the thought and said,” Oh! come on, you heard how he teases me already. He would become completely unbearable if he knew we were actually going out.”

“Again, Pete I wish I had your problems,” Ned said as the bell rang and they made their way to class.

* * *

 Tony was on his way back to the Tower after spending the day at the Compound working on an experiment with Bruce. He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed having Bruce around. It was nice to fall back into familiar patterns sometimes.

He rubbed his head and realized he would require a lot of coffee if he was going to entertain a certain hyperactive teenager that evening. He decided to have Happy stop at the coffee shop next to Peter’s school since he would be passing it anyway. He had laughed when Peter had insisted that it served the best coffee in New York but had promised the kid he would give it a try.

He walked into the cozy looking café and did a double take when he spotted a familiar mop of brown curls sitting across from a girl with a dopey expression on his face. So, this was the real reason he was going to be late to meet him, Tony thought to himself.

He sauntered over to where the girl, who he assumed was MJ was telling Peter about the painting she was working on.

“……. It’s not that interesting, actually.”

Peter leaned forward, his eyes widening as he said,” I think it sounds amazing.”

Tony took that as his cue and said,” I think it sounds amazing too.”

He had to hold back his laugh as Peter sputtered,” Mr. Stark what…. Uh, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, someone cancelled on me so I decided to drown my sorrows in what is apparently the ‘best coffee in New York’,” Tony said to further Peter’s embarrassment.

“So, you decided to crash your intern’s date. Seems tragic,” MJ said while assessing Tony.

Tony smirked at her sass,” Well, you’re just delightful, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’m known for my kind and benevolent nature.”

Peter seemed to have gotten over his initial shock as he said,” Mr. Stark, this is MJ.” He looked at Tony with pleading eyes which Tony was more than happy to ignore.

“So, you’re the famous MJ. Peter has just gone on and on about you.”

Peter groaned as MJ looked at him with a highly amused expression as she said,” Has he, now?”

Tony noticed that the other customers were starting to focus their attention on him and realized he should leave before he ruined the kid’s date completely.

“Well, I’m going to leave you kids to it. It was lovely to meet you MJ. I’ll see you at the internship, Peter,” Tony winked at the kid and swept out of the café.

He couldn’t wait till Peter came over.

* * *

Peter could barely control his smile as he made his way to the tower. He had decided to walk, partly because the weather was good but mostly because he was trying to prolong the time before he had to face Tony.

Once he reached the Tower, he was given directions to Tony’s lab in his penthouse. He made his way up while marveling at how unbelievably cool the Stark Tower was.

Tony had been working on a new Iron man prototype but he quickly put it away when he heard Peter walk in. He turned around to face him with a knowing smirk on his face.

“Well, Decathlon meetings sure seem cozy,” he said

“Look, I’m sorry I lied to you about Decathlon practice but it was only because I knew you would behave exactly the way you did. But, I shouldn’t have lied so this is for you. It’s a peace offering,” Peter said in a rush as he handed Tony a cup of coffee. “Since you never actually got to try the best coffee in New York.”

Tony smiled at Peter and took a sip of the coffee and immediately regretted it. He fought back a shudder as he handed the cup back to the teen.

“Dear God, kid! Are you trying to poison me?” Tony said after he took a sip of his own coffee to expel the taste from his mouth. “That tasted like it was made up entirely of sugar.”

“Oh! Come on Mr. Stark. That’s what makes it so good,” Peter whined.

“Peter, I can’t believe you let me put that into my mouth,” Tony said while handing Peter his own cup. “Try it, that’s what coffee is supposed to taste like.

Peter took a wary sip and almost spit it back out. “That’s so unbelievably gross. Why would you willingly put something so bitter in your mouth on a regular basis?”

“Wow! You are definitely not prepared to try alcohol yet,” Tony said amusingly and then immediately added,” Which is a good thing. It better stay that way till you turn 21. Maybe even after that.”

“Relax, Mr. Stark. I have no plans to get drunk at the present moment,” After contemplating on that he added,” Do you think I can get even drunk? I’ve never thought about it.”

“Please don’t start thinking about it now,” Tony said as he gestured for Peter to take the seat across from him. “Your Aunt will probably skin me alive if she finds out I had something to do with putting this idea into your head.”

Peter just huffed and started looking over the designs for the new suit.

“So, how did the date go?”

Peter grumbled and dropped his head on the table.” I thought you were done making fun of me,” he mumbled.

“Aw, kid I’m not making fun of you. I really want to know. You’ve been talking about her for weeks. I’m surprised it even took you this long to ask her out,” Tony said in the soft voice that he reserved just for Peter.

Peter looked up and smiled really wide,” It was amazing Mr. Stark. We talked for so long and it wasn’t awkward at all. She is so cool. We’re going out again this Friday.”

“That’s great, Pete. I’m happy for you,” Tony said and then with a sly smile on his face he added,” We don’t need to have the talk, do we?”

“What talk?”

“You know, the safe sex talk,” Tony teased.

Peter face turned beet red as he said,” What? No, definitely not. I swear I will run out of here and never come back if you talk about… that.”

“Good, because if you can’t say ‘sex’, you definitely shouldn’t be having it.”

Peter groaned and dropped his head back on the table and mumbled,” You really are the worst sometimes, you know.”

“Oh! Really, what if I said that you can help me in building the new Iron Man suit,” Tony said.

Peter head shot straight up. “Are you being serious, Mr. Stark. That would literally be the coolest thing ever. Ned would probably like die of jealousy.”

“Ned? That’s the kid that hacked into your suit, right?” On seeing Peter nod hesitantly, he added,” You know you can bring him with you the next time you come over. I’d love to meet him.”

Tony was taken by surprise as Peter flung his arms around him while saying thank you. He ruffled the kid’s hair as he hugged him back.

“Okay, let’s see how much of a genius you really are,” Tony said once they pulled away.

Peter quickly busied himself with the designs in front of him. They discussed nanotechnology for the better part of an hour by bouncing theories off each other.

At the end of the evening, Tony was proud to admit that Peter had made really valuable contributions to the suit. After that day, working in the lab together became a regular fixture in both their lives. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team Cap returns in the next chapter.


End file.
